Student Success Stories

What Writing Program students can do...

As part of her ENGL 2010 course, Amber Simmons wrote a paper which she later submitted
and presented at the 2010 Martin Luther King, Jr conference. In her own words, "It was a really cool experience to present my paper. I feel like I was able to do
something powerful. Prior to this, it had been a very long time since I had done something
that I felt like was a true accomplishment. It is always so gratifying to know that
you've worked hard for something and that people have received it well. I had a lot
of people, most of them total strangers, come up to me and tell me what a good job
I did, and I must say that I agreed with them. I had put in countless hours of writing,
revising, and practicing, and I feel like this was an event where I truly gave my
all." Amber was also awarded an Honorable Mention for her paper. At the ceremony she
met and shook hands with Ambassador Andrew Young. Amber writes, "I can't believe I got to shake hands with Andrew Young. It was such an amazing experience
to be able to do that. I was essentially able to shake hands with history. I feel
very "Freedom Writer-y" right now."